[KenWittlief]

generally its not a good idea to try to work out problems on your team on a public forum. I recommend:

1. Try to find another team in your area that can mentor your team - loan you an experienced mentor (adult) - an engineer would be great. Someone who understands what FIRST is all about and who has experience with team organization.

2. Team organization seems to be a big part of the issues you are having. FIRST is intended for HS student participation, from freshman through senior years (ages 14/15 to 17/18 here in the US). Mentors are usually college students, teachers or industry professionals (engineers). So in a way you are lobbing the head off your team if you exclude the seniors from actually participating in the design, build and on-field play.

3. Mentoring: in the several years Ive mentored teams Ive found with new students in the 1st weeks I have to show them how to do things by doing it myself (ie, this is how you crimp /strip / solder a wire...) then they catch on and take over. By the end of the 6 week build period the mentors are mostly walking around with our hands in our pockets, and the students are doing 100% of the work.

4. Get a well established team to link up with your team and talk with your teacher and other adult leaders, and have an exchange of ideas. I dont know how many teams there are in your country this year, but Im willing to bet its not as easy for your team to tap into the FIRST culture, like it is here in the US, where a call for team mentoring can result in two or three well established teams right in your own city offering to help. You are isolated from the hundreds of teams here, so its a little more difficult for us to meet with your adult leaders tonight over dinner and discuss our FIRST philosophies - but it could be done through emails and other means.